Hellen Jo

As I was doing research for my next project, I came across an amazing illustrator named Hellen Jo based out of Burbank, CA. I can only assume that she's Korean since she seems well versed in Korean folklore? Too lazy to look into it. Regardless, what impressed me the most was how she chose to embrace each story. Her dark sense of humor was the icing on the cake for me. She's pretty bad ass. Here are a few pieces I really loved.

This one is called “Red Mask.” And the story behind it is: “The Red Mask (bbal gan ma su ku) is a Korean urban legend which finds its origins in 1970s Japan. She wears a blood-soaked surgical mask and she carries a knife. She approaches people to ask, “Am I pretty?” If you say yes, she’ll kill you, and if you say no, she’ll take off her mask and show you her horrific Glasgow smile, the result of a cosmetic surgery procedure gone terribly wrong. She asks again, “Am I pretty?” If you say yes, she’ll cut up your face; if you say no, she’ll follow you home and THEN cut up your face, and if you say, “You look normal,” she’ll grow confused and wander away.”

This is a piece she was commissioned to commemorate a wedding anniversary. One of their wedding photos inspired her to draw the couple as “Gyeonwu and Jiknyeo, lovers separated by the universe in the Korean folk tale called Chilseok; they were permitted by God to reunite just once each year, on a celestial bridge formed by thousands of magpies and blackbirds.”

Funnily enough, it was one of the few Korean children’s book I had at my disposal when I was a kid. Totally forgot about it and it was great to be reminded of it.

And here’s a more recent piece, outside of the Korean folklore. This one is called “Mortal Residue.”